PVC Re-Glue?

[fishnu]

I torqued a PVC Tee on the back of my tank a little too hard and the solvent and glue gave way. That surprised me because the joint was 24 hours dry but I guess I didn't goop it enough.

What do you think about resolventing and reglueing joints?

I will have to redo a pretty complex (15-20 component) piece if I have to redo it from scratch.



And no, my tank isn't still in the basement! (Old picture)...it is in my living room and I want to be careful before I turn my pump on!

[Dentoid]

I think it would be fine to reglue it. Just sand off the old glue so that you are back to PVC. Thank goodness you have risen from the basement. What a creepy place!

[rbursek]

I would try and re solvent it and reglue it and then do a leak test. That is strange it came apart if it was done right.

[BigAl07]

My understanding is (take it for what it's worth) that the PVC glue is indeed a solvent and will melt or re-melt as long as the parts are still close fitting. It's probably just a matter of not enough was applied the first time to make a complete bond. I'd pull the parts apart, confirm everything is in good shape (just talking about the two that are to be re-glued) and lay it to them. I'm pretty sure once they are adequately glued you wont be getting them apart like that.

If I woke up in your shoes that's what I wold do.

Good luck and Happy Reefing

[fishnu]

Originally Posted by Dentoid

What a creepy place!

Scott, you should see the mess I created in the basement over the last few months. I would have moved out of the apt. if all that crap was upstairs (curing, stripping, staining, cutting and glueing PVC, water testing, damsel on blue rocks...well maybe the damsel would have been OK upstairs).

Thanks all.

I have the tank filled but not the sump. I am running RO/DI upstairs through an AC duct and it takes a long time to fill (24-30 hours spaced out over 2-3 days) if you have to be there to observe it during the entire time. I have the LR and a few snails and hermits in there with a heater and two Koralia Nanos just to keep things moving, nicely lit by Scott's old Aqualight . I rinsed the aragonite before I dropped it in the tank but still got alot of clouds and foam. I was surprised with the foam since I would have not expected that in the presence of some acidic water or rock. Anyway the foam has subsided and now the cloudiness is starting to clear. I will post a pic tonite.

Back to measuring ammonia trites and trates; cycles within cycles.

[fishnu]

Originally Posted by rbursek

I would try and re solvent it and reglue it and then do a leak test. That is strange it came apart if it was done right.

Bob, what do you expect from a Bears fan? As my student teacher girlfriend used to say, you're gonna keep on doing that until you get it right!

[Scouter Steve]

Did you use primer? I would rethink all out of tank joints that didn't get primer. Some say use primer only for pressure applications, I use primer where I don't want a leak! As far as redoing it---go ahead. Sand down high spots, prime, then a good coating all the way around the male end and twist a bit while inserting. If you get nuts and use to much cement it will push the joint apart so don't get to ambitious with the glue.

[rbursek]

Primer does 2 things it cleans the PVC and softens it slightly so the cement welds the 2 together better.

[tbittner]

Always make it purple. Always use the real PVC cement. Don't use the blue stuff. I tried that stuff and it's not good on fittings that will have pressure. It might be ok for drains....

[sasquatch]

its suprising how many seemingly perfect joints leak without the primer, especially if the solvent is not mixed well first or is old

[fishnu]

Don't know....maybe I skimped on the purple.
I'm using Oatey Purple and Oatey Gold, so you Packers should be delighted.

Couldn't find orange and blue.

I made one fatal mistake.

I water tested the tank. but I never pressure tested it in the basement.

[sasquatch]

its only water, it will dry up,.. eventually lol

[tbittner]

Sas is right, shake the can of cement VIGOROUSLY for a few MINUTES to make sure it's thoroughly mixed. Be really liberal with the primer. The printing on the pipe will wipe off with the primer if you rub it enough.

[mywivestank]

I've got a crazy question, do you guys ever use Weldon PVC cement? I used to use the stuff you get at the home improvement stores but since I have this stuff at work I would never go back. I never have to prime anything and have never had a leak yet, knock on wood. It dries so fast you cannot make a mistake or your done. I think I will look into if it is hard to get or not, I've never seen it in the store so I don't know. I just looked it up, It's #795.

[tbittner]

I never heard of it. I thought weldon only made acrylic cement. That's great to know!

I'm really anxious to get my 120g reef shut down BECAUSE of all the pipe that is running through the ceiling of the basement. I can't see it all. So I'm just hoping that nothing happens....

I used Oately for everything BUT I did use some of the blue stuff (also Oately) and sure enough, it started leaking on one of the joints that I did on the return pipe. I don't think it stands up well to pressure.